The theatre of lights by Rousseau and Manuel de Figueiredo: A dialogue with their theatrical proposals

Abstract

This paper analyzes the presence of Enlightenment ideas in the work of the 18th-century Portuguese playwright Manuel de Figueiredo (1725-1801), using as references the theatrical works written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778); it is a search for the theatrical developments of the Enlightenment movement in the culture of 18th-century Portugal. Rousseau's dramaturgy and theatrical writings can well illustrate the theatrical discussions of the 18th-century philosophers who pointed towards a new theater, with new proposals for dramaturgy and for the stage itself. The vast body of work by Manuel de Figueiredo, dedicated to the theatre – yet so little performed and known – reflects elements of a Portugal that, after the Lisbon earthquake, opened itself to the Enlightenment. Theatre stages were the privileged public space for the most heated discussions and the most famous clashes of ideas on the various themes that so stirred the restless and curious minds of the Enlightenment. The passionate interest in French theatre has ancient roots and was expressed both in public squares and in the halls of palaces, as well as in the wealthy residences of the rising bourgeoisie of the 18th century. Not only France, but all of Europe was experiencing the general transformations that the Enlightenment demanded. Portugal, in the first half of the Age of Enlightenment, had not yet breathed those new airs, but from the second half of the 18th century onwards, it also experienced the force of that entire movement, exemplified here in this communication, in the work of Manuel de Figueiredo. From the quotation, taken from the Roman poet Horace, which opens the first of thirteen volumes dedicated to theatre in Manuel de Figueiredo's extensive work (“O imitatores sevum pecus” – imitators, flock of servants), the playwright's concern with aesthetic themes discussed in the Enlightenment, such as imitation, verisimilitude, and their implications, is perceptible. Even though it is a short text, the Portuguese author's Prologue acts as a synthesis of the issues discussed by Rousseau in his Letter to d'Alembert on spectacles.